In a conventional television system, a plurality of channels are utilized to broadcast, simultaneously, a plurality of programs to a television set. A user is then able to view any one of the plurality of channels received by the television. Further, the user may utilize personalized or virtual channels. The user may, for example, use a remote control to select between the channels.
However, with the increasing number of channels available to a user, it is increasingly difficult for the user to browse through the channels quickly. For example, a user may wish to browse through other channels during commercial breaks and then return to the main channel quickly. This is tedious and time consuming as the number of channels increase. Traditionally, the user remembers the channel number of the current channel in order to quickly return to it once he has finished browsing. Simple mechanisms for returning to the current channel like, for example, pressing a “Previous Program” key or “Alternate Channel” key are effective if the user has only browsed one other channel. However, these mechanisms are not effective when the user has browsed more than one other channel. Other mechanisms, such as the Electronic Program Guide or the “P+”, “P−” keys can be used but do not enable the user to return to their current channel with a single key press.
There exists a method of bookmarking channels, in which a user can select a channel to be bookmarked. The bookmarked channels can then be recalled in the future so that the user is not required to remember the numbers associated with the channels, and is not required to browse the channels to find one of interest.
One known method for bookmarking channels can be found in the patent application WO 9737490. In this disclosure, programs or channels are bookmarked for later selection. At any time while watching the television, the viewer can bookmark programs or channels to which he or she wants to return quickly and/or at a later time by pressing a button on a remote control. When a channel or program is bookmarked, a checkmark is shown in the corner of the screen to indicate that the program is marked. The checkmark only remains visible for a short period of time. Furthermore, when a viewer switches channel, the checkmark disappears. The result of bookmarking more than one channel is that each bookmarked channel is added to a list. Then, when the user wishes to return to a bookmarked channel, they are required to press a Recall button. Upon pushing the recall button, the first bookmarked channel is recalled. The user is then required to press the recall button again to retrieve the second bookmarked channel and so on.
Further examples of known methods can be found in the patent applications US 2002/0075408 and WO 00/62533.
These known methods for selecting a preferred video channel for viewing require the user to browse through a list of bookmarked channels. This may be time consuming if the user has bookmarked many channels.